| Moldakul Narymbetov |
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Moldakul Narymbetov (1946–2012) was a central figure of the Kazakh art collective Kyzyl Tractor (founded in 1990) and played a pivotal role in shaping and popularizing contemporary art and new media primarily through performance, painting, and sculpture. His practice combined shamanistic myth-making with modern concerns, creating a language that was at once archaic in form and strikingly relevant in content. Known for his engagement with purification rituals,sound and oral tradition Narymbetov, however, was also experimenting with works on paper, calm, often minimal landscape and abstraction, as well as objects made out of wood, used car tires, stone, leather and ropes. His canvases are bold, and charged with radiating light , where vivid color strokes echo the rhythms of nature and recall the expressive palette from distinct fauvists-like brushtrokes to faded earthy colors. Alternating between abstraction and landscapes of small rural settlements, his paintings frequently touch on themes of sacrifice, solitude, silence, emptiness ritual, technological intrusion, and existential reflection. Narymbetov’s artworks are part of the private and public collections including M HKA in Antwerp, Belgium made possible together with Tselinny Shagylys Collection, TOVA Foundation, Almaty Museum of Arts, Eurasian Cultural Alliance, Tretyakov Gallery and the Nevzorovs’ Museum in Semey to name a few Selected group and solo exhibitions include Thinking Collection Telling Tales at MANA contemporary in 2018, Aruaqtyn Tüsi at the National Museum of Kazakhstan in Astana in 2018, Sound Off at Ykhlas Museum of Musical Instruments within the official program of Korkut Biennale organized by Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture in 2022 as well as Takyrk-Craquelure at Egin Art Space in 2024 and Where Wings Grow at Aspan Gallery in 2025. |
Oil & Acrylic on canvas
90 x 185 cm each